As far as pests are concerned, mosquitoes continually rank as one of the top offenders that people have to deal with. As the weather gets warmer, these tiny bloodsuckers begin to show up in and around homes across the country. However, their numbers begin to significantly decrease as the cooler weather of Fall approaches. Have you ever wondered where they go in the winter? Here we will discuss the life cycle of the mosquito in a little more detail.
Stages of Mosquito Development & Reproduction
Mosquitoes are some of the most resilient creatures on the planet and can survive in a multitude of different climates. That said, the mosquito only lives for about ten days. Males cannot survive in colder temperatures. Here we will briefly cover the complete life cycle of a mosquito.
Egg Laying in Fall
Mosquitoes require a source of water in order to lay their eggs. This is one good reason to remove all stagnant bodies of water around your home. Just this one action will drastically reduce your mosquito population.
In the Fall season, female mosquitoes lay their eggs near areas of stagnant water or places where the soil is very damp. Females lay up to 300 eggs at one time, which explains why the mosquito population remains so high in most areas. Mosquito eggs can remain in a dormant state in the soil until Spring when the eggs will begin to hatch.
Larval and Pupal Stages
Some varieties of mosquitoes can survive the cold winter temperatures if they are in the larval or pupal stages when cold weather arrives. However, even mosquitoes that are in the larval and pupal stages require water sources for their survival. This means that freezing temperatures make it very difficult for most mosquito varieties to survive. Some mosquitoes can enter a state where their metabolism slows down drastically, allowing them to survive until the warm temperatures resume and ice begins to melt.
What Happens to Female Mosquitoes in the Winter?
The short answer to this question is that mosquitoes enter a type of hibernation similar to that experienced by bears in colder weather. While males don’t typically survive cold temperatures, female mosquitoes just enter a state of hibernation until warm weather comes back around.
As Spring approaches and the weather warms up, female mosquitoes begin to come out of their hibernating state in search of food and a place to deposit their eggs. For this reason, humans all across the country start to notice a huge influx of mosquitoes around this time of year. While it seems like they vanished during the winter, they were simply hibernating in anticipation of warm temperatures to arrive yet again.
MosquitoNix has been serving the San Antonio area for many years. We pride ourselves on providing top notch mosquito removal treatments that will give you peace from these exceptionally annoying creatures. If you are tired of dealing with mosquitoes and the consequences they bring about, please contact MosquitoNix San Antonio today to find out more information on our various mosquito treatment options.
If you need help in eliminating these pesky biting insects from your yard, our San Antonio, Texas Team here at MosquitoNix® is here to help!
